Jasminocereus

Etymology -The name describes the fragrance of the nocturnal flowers which resemble that of Jasmine.Jasminocereus is a genus of a single species with treelike growth up to 23feet (7m) in height. The numerous ribs have closely-spaced areoles with fairly long upward-pointing spines. Flowers are white and fragrant which give rise to fleshy round reddish fruit.

One of two genera that can be found only on the Galapagos Islands, Jasminocereus is almost non-existent in cultivation. The strict controls over all living things on the Galapagos makes source material very scarce and cultivation knowledge is quite limited.

Like so many columnar cactus species in the past, Jasminocereus was originally described under the genus Cereus and two species were described. It was later determined that the two species were actually juvenile and mature specimens of the same species. Even so, the genus does show a good deal of variation given the relatively restricted occurrence of just 8 Islands of the Galapagos. Most taxonomists are content to list these differences as varieties keeping this a monotypic genus.